Fireplace grates which permit the stacking of logs and the like for convenient and efficient burning are well known. Such grates are typically manufactured from solid steel bars to form a structure having a plurality of feet and a basket for containing the firewood. Firewood placed upon the grate is elevated slightly above the floor of the fireplace so that the fire may be easily started by burning kindling beneath the logs and so that ashes will drop from the logs away from the fire and consequently not tend to smother the fire. Also, elevation of the logs helps to provide for a draft which provides a constant supply of fresh oxygen to the fire.
As the fire burns, ashes and burning embers fall from the wood or other burning material to the floor of the fireplace and accumulate there until cleaning is performed. Cleaning typically requires that the grate be removed from the fireplace and the ashes collected and disposed of. Collecting the ashes typically involves sweeping the floor of the fireplace and then removing the ashes. The process of cleaning the fireplace is typically a distasteful and messy task. The person cleaning the fireplace commonly soils his hands and clothes in the process.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus Which automatically collects ashes and embers from the burning material disposed upon the grate and which maintains the ashes and embers so collected for their convenient removal from the fireplace. As such, although the prior art has recognized the problem of collecting and disposing of ashes and embers from a fireplace, the proposed solutions have to date been ineffective in providing a satisfactory remedy.